George Melendez Wright Climate Change Fellowship Program

On behalf of the National Park Service, the University of Washington College of the Environment is accepting applications for the 2011 George Melendez Wright Climate Change Fellowship Program.

The goals of this student fellowship program are to support new and innovative research on climate change impacts to protected areas and to increase the use of scientific knowledge to further resource management in parks. Awards will be made in the range of $5,000 to $20,000 per fellowship for research to be undertaken in calendar years 2011-12. Projects may consist of exploratory research that could lead to a larger project funded by other sources but must result in tangible outcomes that are aimed at informing resource decisions. Applications are encouraged for research in any area relevant to the natural and cultural resources of units of the National Park System. Examples include projects addressing vulnerability and risk assessment; adaptation strategies; public perceptions and values; and impacts to natural resources, cultural landscapes, and ethnographic resources.

Eligibility: An individual graduate student or a team of graduate students who are currently enrolled, or will be enrolled in a U.S. accredited college or university may apply. Both U.S. citizens and non-citizens are eligible. NPS employees are not eligible to apply.

Requirements: Proposed research should be conducted on or around National Park lands and must be relevant to NPS resource management needs. Upon completion of the fellowship, students are required to provide a summary report of their results and one or more educational products or publications to help facilitate information transfer beyond the scientific audience. Deliverables may include a presentation to the site manager, public seminar, or non-technical article. Housing may be available within the park where research will be conducted. Requests for housing will be made as part of the application process and must be arranged through the park after the fellowship has been awarded and well in advance of the project start date.

The deadline for submission is February 4, 2011. All applicants will be notified of selection decisions by April 22, 2011. Proposals will be selected based on the following criteria: relevance and technical soundness of the proposed research; feasibility of the proposed study; qualifications of the student; and the clarity and completeness of the proposal. Research projects are to begin in the summer of 2011 and may be completed in one or two field seasons (summers of 2011 and 2012). Awardees will submit either a progress report or a final report by September 2011. Final reports for projects conducted over two field seasons will be due by September 30, 2012.

Questions? Please see the Frequently Asked Questions page. If your question is not answered, please contact us at gmwccfp@uw.edu